Improvement in machinery for stretching leather



'J. SHARP.

MACHINERY FOR STRETCHING LEATHER. No. 190,693, Patented May15, 1877.

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MPEIERS. FHOTO-LITHOGRAPREL WASHINGTON. D C.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOSEPH SHARP, OF CINCINNATI, OHIO.

IMPROVEMENT IN MACHINERY FOR STRETCHING LEATHER.

Specification formingpart of Letters Patent No. 190,693, dated May 15,1877 application filed February 14, 1877.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, JOSEPH'SHARP, ofOincinnati, in the county of Hamilton and State of Ohio, have invented anew and useful Improvement in Leather-Stretching Machines; and I dohereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exactdescription thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawin gs,and to the letters of reference marked thereon.

Figure lrepresents aperspective view of my machine. Fig. 2 represents avertical longitudinal section of the same.

The object of my invention is to prepare leather for belting bysubjecting it to sufficient tension to elongate its fibers to such adegree that, when compressed, it becomes retentive of the additionallength given it by the stretching operation; and consists in thecombination of a series of parallel rolls with a pressurebar, or itsequivalent, and controlling mechanism in a machine for accomplishing theresult, as hereinafter more fully described.

In the accompanying drawings, the parallel rolls A B G and shafts D'Eare journaled at their extremities in suitable bearings upon the frameG. Power is communicated to the shafts D E and rolls A 0 throughbelt-pulley E, secured to the shaft E, and gear-wheels & i t 11 5,connected with the shafts and rolls, respectively, as shown in Fig. 1.Shaft D is provided with a gear-wheel at each end, and has also ashipping-lever, H, so connected with it by means of the arm d, collar 0,and extension d (the latter being loosely hinged to the bedplate of themachine, so that it may slide laterally) that the shaft may be movedlongitudinally in its bearings, into and out of gear with thepulley-shaft E and the adjacent roll 0. The roll 0 is a lead or take-uproll, having a slot extending through its diameter, and longitudinallybetween its journals, of sufficient dimensions to admit the end of theside of leathor operated upon, as hereinafter described. An adjustablepressure-bar, I, extends across the frame under the rolls A B, guided atits lateral extremities in grooved ways secured to the inner parallelsides of the frame G, within which guides the pressure-bar movesvertically when actuated by the attendant by pressure of the foot uponthe lever L, transmitting with the standard J, to which it is hinged, to

oscillate or slide laterally as they are actuated by the inequalities ofthe leather in passing between the pressure-bar and the rollers A B. Theroll B is free in its journal-bearings to act .as the fixed jaw of aclamp, and to revolve only with the forward movement of the leather,which is held in contact with it by the pressure-bar.

It has been the general practice, in preparing sides of leather to bestretched for belting by machinery, to trim them upon both of theirprincipal edges. That edge which is denominated the back of a side ofleather is uniformly of curvilinear form when finished by the tanner,and in order to straighten that edge a strip, widest in the middle andtapering at each end, was cut away, and the flank edge of the side wasafterward trimmed by cutting it oft on a line parallel with thestraightened back edge. By this mode of preparing the side of leather aportion of the best part of it, along the back, was wasted or of littlevalue; besides, the scrap taken from the flank edge was also ofcomparatively little value. Moreover, the side of leather thus trimmed,when subjected to the tension of a stretching-machine, could not beuniformly stretched throughout its entire body, because there was leftupon the flank edge a small portion of thin and spongy leather.

In preparing a side of leather for the operation in my machine, I do nottrim its back edge, but only trim 0d the flank upon a line parallel withthe curvilineal back edge, and thus I utilize a larger portion of theleather best suited for belting, and make but one scrap, which is ofmore value for other purposes than the two scraps made by the formermode of trimming.

The side of leather, after being trimmed as above specified, andprepared, in the usual manner, by soaking and stuffin g, is ready to besubjected to the action of the machine. The

leather is fed into the machine end foremost, passing over table T, andunder rolls A B, to the slotted roll 0, into the slot of which its endis inserted, as represented in sectional Fig.2. 'The transmitting-shaftD and its gearwheels being thrown into connection with their fellows bymeans of shipping-lever, the movement of the lead-roll 0 draws theleather through in the direction indicated, winding it around the roll0, and at the same time the attendant forces down lever L with his foot,which causes the pressure-bar I to rise in contact with the leather,clamping it between bar I and the rolls A B, as shown in Fig. 2, thusacting as a brake upon the leather, and subjecting it to a high degreeof tension and compression. The leather is then removed from roll 0, andagain passed through the machine with its other end foremost.

The side of leather, which, when prepared for the machine, iscurvilinear upon both its principal edges, and yields most upon itsblank edge when subjected to longitudinal strain, will, by the action ofthe machine, become permanently straightened. and acquire equal textureand solidity throughout its entire body.

The roll A, like the roll B, may be left free to revolve only as actedupon by the passing leather, or, by the use of an idler-pinion, may becaused to revolve in a contrary direction.

It is also obvious that the machine would be operative if the rolls A Bwere simply fixed cylindrical bars, presenting smooth surfaces to theleather in its passage.

Having fully described my invention, I claim- 1. The combination, in aleather-stretching machine, of the horizontal series of parallel rollswith a centrally-pivoted self -adjusting pressure-bar, arranged foroperation substantially as described.

2. In a leather-stretching machine provided with a series of parallelrolls, substantially as described, the combination of acentrally-pivoted self-adj usting pressure-bar with a system of leversfor operating the same, substantially as and for the purpose specified.

3. In a leather-stretching machine, the selfadjusting pressure-bar,centrally pivoted below a pair of rolls, in combination with itsoperating-levers and treadle, for straightening and equalizing thetexture of the side or piece of leather being stretched, substantiallyas described.

Witness my hand this 23d day of January,

JOSEPH SHARP. Witnesses:

L. M. HOSEA, H. P. K. PEoK.

